Potato Boy earned his name, for those of you that don’t know, for his love of everything potato – mashed, baked, hash browns, french fries, chips, fried, boiled. The only exception is potato salad, which I have to agree, can be hit or miss. There’s really only one other food that will match the wide-eyed grin he gets at the phrase “mashed potatoes for supper” and that’s Zucchini Muffins.
Potato Boy was 5 or 6 the first time I brought home an over grown zucchini. He already had a liking for blueberry muffins – minus the blueberries – so he was naturally curious when I told him I was planning on making the large green squash into muffins. When he asked “what is that again?” with a cautious look as he watched me grate the zucchini I guessed he would never touch a muffin again. Was I wrong. It didn’t take long for Potato Boy’s appreciation for the muffins to catch on with the other kiddos. Even LuLu will swipe a cooling muffin from the table.
Making the muffins in our house is now a three part process: mixing, baking, and hiding. In order to assure the kiddos don’t polish off an entire batch in a single day, a number of muffins are hidden away to be used as after school snacks during the week. If you’re curious, the recipe is below. We’ll grate the zucchini while it’s in season and freeze two cups in a bag so it’s ready to thaw and use anytime.
Zucchini Muffins
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
4 eggs (room temp)
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups grated zucchini
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Sift all dry ingredients – set aside. Combine sugar and egg. Beat for 2 minutes. Add oil slowly while beating for 2 to 3 additional minutes. Add zucchini and vanilla. Blend well. Stir in nuts and raisins. Fold in dry ingredients. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes in a lined muffin pan.